A symposium that reflects and concludes the exhibition and project “What Does It Mean To Make An Experiment?”—a research project between the School of Design and the Centre for Information Technology and Architecture / CITA. . .

Digital Poetics: An Open Theory of Design-Research in Architecture celebrates the architectural design exuberance made possible by new digital modelling techniques and fabrication technologies. By presenting an unconventional and original “humanistic” theory of CAD (computer-aided design), the author suggests that beyond the generation of innovative engineering forms, digital design has the potential to affect the wider complex cultural landscape of today in profound ways.

The exhibition, Design Intelligence: Advanced Computational Research, opened in 751-D, Beijing, China, on Friday 26 September 2013. The exhibition included the work of 32 of the leading schools of architecture in the world, including the AA, Harvard, USC, UPenn, MIT, Yale, Princeton, SCI-Arc, UCLA, UMichigan, Bartlett, IaaC, DIA, Angewandte, Tsinghua and Tongji, and was curated by Neil Leach and Xu Weiguo. The catalogue was published by China Architecture and Building Press.

Joanna PAWLAS: Audiocrete is a peronal amplifying surface tailored to specific frequencies. Audiocrete was generated by parameters directly corresponding to the range of wavelengths of frequencies identified in the recordings of my own voice. The generated space constrains create constructive interference and amplify sound of my frequency spectrum. Audiocrete creates both spatial and acoustic experience, by framing a particular soundscape in both physical and aural way.

“What is design research in architecture? This pressing question dominates discussions amongst leading academics and heads of administration in our architecture schools today. From building performance to novel material systems, to complex structures, to contemporary manufacturing, the practice of design research in architecture schools is extremely relevant to the future of our built environment and to the shaping of our academic institutions. . . .”